YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa
Vol. 8, No. 3
Including Surrounding Communities
New directors take key roles by Ruth Roberts Staff Writer
The Discovery Bay CSD board has appointed its new directors to two of its most high-profile positions. The appointments came as a surprise to some observers who believed the annual process would be little more than a formality given the relative inexperience of the incoming directors. Kevin Graves was named CSD president, and Brian Dawson treasurer for the 2010 year during the regular CSD meeting on Jan. 6. Graves will replace Ray Tetreault, and Dawson will fill the position left vacant since September by the resignation of Dave Dove. Mark Simon will remain as vice president. The change in assignments came during a lightning-quick
nomination and appointment process, which began with Simon nominating Tetreault for another term as president. But the nomination was not followed with a second, therefore requiring the board to nominate another director for the seat. Director David Piepho then nominated Simon for president, which was seconded by Graves, but Simon declined the nomination. Dawson then nominated Graves for president, seconded by Piepho, and Graves accepted the nomination. Graves went on to nominate Tetreault for vice president, but Tetreault declined the nomination. Piepho then nominated Simon for the position, which was seconded by see Directors page 16A
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Photo by Richard Wisdom
SD Director Ray Tetreault, left, offers Dave Dove the town’s thanks along with an official Discovery Bay jacket and commemorative plaque in appreciation for his service to the community during his tenure on the CSD board. Dove, along with Shannon Murphy-Teixeira, resigned from the board in September. As Murphy-Texeira was unable to attend the meeting, the thank-you items were mailed to her.
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by Dave Roberts Staff Writer
Photo by Dave Roberts
Ray Valverde, left, who is looking to buy, talks with Matthew Anderson of Coldwell Banker at an open house Saturday in Brentwood. ket,” said Shawn Beddingfield, broker associate with Coldwell Banker Amaral & Associates. “We went from a buyer’s market two to three years ago to where it switched over the last year to a pseudo-seller’s market. Technically speaking, it’s a seller’s
January 15, 2010
THIS WEEK
Pseudo-seller’s housing market assessed It sounds like a contradiction, but strong arguments can be made that the East County housing market is both a seller’s market and a great time to buy. It’s a seller’s market because there is currently a limited supply of houses for sale, prices are no longer in free-fall and many sellers are receiving multiple offers above the asking price in bidding wars. Attractive houses at attractive prices are snapped up in fairly short order by eager buyers. On the other hand, buyers have a lot of things going for them right now: discounts of 50 percent or more on fairly new houses, $6,500-$8,000 federal tax incentives if they buy soon and interest rates near historic lows. “It’s a pseudo-sellers mar-
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market. But because prices have come down so far, it’s still a buyer’s market.” It’s definitely a bonanza for bargain hunters, particularly compared to what houses cost just a few years ago. In Brentwood, a five-bedroom In-
What’s up?
verness Court house that sold for $820,000 in 2005 was recently picked up for $365,000. A threebedroom house on Morro Drive in Antioch that sold for $489,000 in 2006 was recently purchased for $182,000. A three-bedroom Discovery Bay house on Merritt Court that sold for $645,000 in 2006 was snapped up for $305,000 last month. In Oakley a four-bedroom house on Puffin Circle selling for $654,000 in 2006 recently went for $270,000. “I think the height of the market was four or five years ago,” said Beddingfield. “It took the first couple years to start trending downward. Two years ago and last year we had the inventory glut. It stabilized in the $500,000s and started coming down. The last 10 months see Market page 9A
Wise beyond their years When kids on a far continent are threatened, East County kids don’t wait around for the adults to take action.
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Soccer supremacy
Having lost only three league games in four seasons, the Lions see complacency as their toughest opponent.
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INSIDE Business .............................8A Calendar ..........................19B Classifieds ........................12B Cop Logs ..........................15A Entertainment ................18B Food .................................10B Health, Beauty & Fitness ..1B Milestones ......................... 9B Opinion ...........................14A Sports ...............................17A
Check the community calendar.
Find out about hometown events or post your event for free at www.thepress.net. See page 18B.
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A